N.J. panel removes obstacle for Dinky station plan

Martin Griff / The Times of TrentonThe Dinky train station in Princeton Borough on Friday, April 13, 2012
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TRENTON — A state panel yesterday moved to remove an obstacle to Princeton University’s plan to relocate the last stop of the Dinky train line at University Place.

The state Historic Sites Council voted 5-1 to allow NJ Transit to act ahead of schedule and forfeit an easement it holds for the current station stop, which is listed in the state and national registries of historic places. The measure now goes to Richard Boornazian, the assistant commissioner for natural and historic resources, who may accept or reject the council decision.

The university plans to alter the final Dinky stop, moving the platform 460 feet south of the present location to make way for its planned Arts and Transit Neighborhood development. The effort includes plans to reuse the old train station as a restaurant.

Though the stop is listed as an historic site, Princeton University is not subject to review under the New Jersey Register of Historic Places Act, according to the council’s draft resolution.

“The Historic Sites Council’s approval is needed because there is a state agency, NJ Transit, that has an easement on the property. They are requesting to abandon that easement so that Princeton can establish the restaurant and other things,” Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Hajna said. The state Historic Preservation Office is part of the DEP.

The council placed conditions on the forfeiture, requiring NJ Transit to take photos documenting the redevelopment plan and to wait to abandon the easement until a new station is actually in use, Hajna said.

“Our hope is that by this time next year we will begin work on the project, and one of the first things that would happen would be the relocation of the terminus,” Princeton University vice president Bob Durkee said yesterday.

The university has found common ground with NJ Transit on moving the stop, in part because the university, rather than the state, will pay for the new station, Durkee said.The university’s plan for the new station must be approved by the local zoning board before ground is broken, Durkee said.

“What we’ve decided to do is to wait to get full approval for the entire Arts and Transit project,” Durkee said. “We will soon be presenting all of these plans to the Princeton Regional Planning Board for site plan approval.”